Last summer, I repaired the broken glass on the fence side of the greenhouse. This required taking down the neighbouring fence to gain access to the panes. In so doing, I closed the entrance for the mice that set up home in the cold …( read more )

The last year has been a productive time for me. I have managed to fulfil many of the tick boxes mentally listed, partly because I have had the family at home to embolden me to keep going, just knowing that they are around to call if I …( read more )

I have an aging car with an old battery nearing its expiry date. Via a connector in the boot, I have attached a trickle-charge solar panel in the tailgate window to keep the battery charged up as high as it will allow. This way, the car …( read more )

I was listening in on the radio to Jennifer Kavanagh, a representative for the RAND Corporation, an American non-profit global policy think tank. She made observations about social media and their influence in the recent USA presidential …( read more )

Some time back, I watched a programme on television called Antiques Roadshow, which Caroline encouraged me to take in. I say "encouraged" but in reality, it was more of an expectation of husbandly compliance for a quiet life. The …( read more )

Before COVID-19, our church has usually had a Christmas craft fayre, mainly as an outreach for the local community. The church membership, who are mostly tasked with supervising the various craft table activities, come, too. They are …( read more )

As I have written elsewhere , I have a yearly dialogue with the tax department. Year-on-year, they seem unable to join up the dots between our income and their rules. This year was no different. In COVID-19 times, it was more troublesome …( read more )

We have had a blocked drain. As a school caretaker for awhile, back in the mists of time, one of the things that I had to do was unblock the drains. So, with my past experience and with my usual optimism and presumption, I set about …( read more )

Yesterday, I was standing in the queue, practicing social distancing, waiting to buy my fish, chicken, peas, and chips, when a man approached, singing his own version of a Nat King Cole song: "When I fall in love, it will be for money …" …( read more )

Recently, Caroline called me on her drive to the shops, to say that the car was making a scraping sound. We have breakdown insurance, but because it was local, I wanted to make sure that I could remedy the situation before invoking their …( read more )

We went away with the caravan to the city of St. David's in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Where we stay is very near a long, shallow beach called Whitesands Bay. It is a place of peace. When I want to walk with God, I remember those times I have …( read more )

I belong to a group of intercessors in our church. During term-time, we meet upstairs in a room overlooking the balcony. As I came out of the group on a day in February, I looked down on the main body of the church. Above the …( read more )

Here in Cheltenham, on the edge of town, we have a world-renowned racecourse that holds events. It is a massive area that occasionally becomes a village in its own right. Just before the COVID-19 shutdown in early March, we had one such …( read more )

In early March, as I sat in the car, waiting for the parents to leave the car park, I noticed a grandmother with a small boy, no more than six years old. She was encouraging the lad to get into school. He wanted the grandmother to walk to …( read more )

In the present gridlock, we are coping well-ish as a family in the comfort of home. Together, we allocate time to work through chores, exercise, and education. I had not valued our privileges as much before the lockdown as I do now, …( read more )

At the time of writing this in early March, I have been reeling with the shock of my sister-in-law's recent sudden, unexpected death that has left the family in a state of disbelief. She went to bed with a cold, never to get up. She was …( read more )

The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a virus shaped like a spherical crown (corona) with protrusions. It has taken such a grip of so many …( read more )

The Portuguese Man o' War is made up of millions of polyps called zooids. These zooids work together to function as a single organism. They differentiate so that some become dedicated to stinging, catching, defence, digestion, or …( read more )

There are situations in which I am robbed of my peace because I have little say in the outcome, such as when I was dealing with faceless officialdom that takes weeks of calls and letters to resolve. Life can get a bit stressful for me. …( read more )

Zoë usually walks to her nearby school. In the gloomy month of December, she went off in too much hurriedness, and in the process, she forgot her watch. A few minutes after she left, I noticed it on the bathroom radiator. So, being a …( read more )

My oven has a triple-glazed oven door. Over time, the weekly routine of cooking fish and chips, cakes, and various roasts accumulates residue on the inside of the glass door. Whilst we may easily clean the outside of the glass daily with …( read more )

Earlier this past year, I finished reading the Bible from first to last again. Now I have finished patting myself on the back for that accomplishment, and I have had long enough away from the more organized system of reading His Word to …( read more )

On our narrow street recently, there were two cars parked, across the street and at each end of the bus stop. As I neared the first parked car, a bus was pulling up to its stop on the other side. Not being in a rush, and having seen the …( read more )

When push comes to shove, I'd prefer a life without the growing of pearls around my grit. I'd just like the grit to be gone so that I can rest a while without looking for what is next. My conscience is the place where there is nearly …( read more )

Towing a caravan in the remote parts of the Welsh countryside, combined with fans blowing onto the windscreen, resulted in a distinct film of the outside dust attached to the inside of the windscreen — not that it is that noticeable in …( read more )

When God suggested that we move, I wanted a house that was new. After all, I had suggested to God, "This is what You should want for us, right?" God heard, but had different, better plans. It is an older bungalow with an attic which has …( read more )

Synaptic potentiation is a mechanism in the hippocampus that enables us to remember. In a nutshell, the stronger the chemical pathway connection in our hippocampus to surrounding tissue, the longer the memory lasts. Triggers such as …( read more )

Recently, the slugs and snails have been after my dahlias and lupines. I have been dismayed at how much damage can be done in such a short time over the mid-summer nights. Brutal has been the decimation, and total the annihilation of some …( read more )

Recently, we have enjoyed the blessings of taking the family and the caravan (travel trailer) to the nearby Cotswold Wildlife Park to see the rhinos, flamingos, etc. We have been promising this for a number of years, so finally, we did it …( read more )

Recently, I was in a hurry getting the children and myself ready for school. So, this particular morning, I picked up my shoes and made my way to the living room to sit down, as I encouraged the children to switch off and move away from …( read more )

Since I have arrived at our new home, I have spent time getting our garden into shape. After three years, the pruning is bearing fruit, literally. The old pear tree was a mess when we arrived, as were the other fruit trees. So, I pruned …( read more )

Recently, I have been up a ladder making adjustments to my satellite dish, to see if I could get a better signal from the receiver for the television. The signal needs to be strong enough for the receiver to receive it and the quality …( read more )

After a Sunday lunch of baked salmon, it fell to me to wash up. Imagine my surprise when our non-stick silicone baking mat was no longer as originally intended. Years of baking had left a layer of brown residue to which the salmon skin …( read more )